The National Policing Institute developed a voluntary and anonymous reporting system that enables law enforcement personnel to study and anonymously share stories of close calls or “near misses.” A near miss is defined as a situation where a law enforcement officer could have been seriously injured or killed, but harm or death was averted. Each near miss incident provides lessons learned that can protect other officers who encounter similar situations, but only if the incident is reported and shared. Our mission is to enable and encourage law enforcement personnel to share their near miss experiences so the lessons learned from them can be used by other officers and incorporated systematically into agencies’ training, policy, and equipment decisions to prevent officer injuries and fatalities.

Prior to the launch of the LEO Near Miss system, the law enforcement profession did not have any national near miss reporting system capable of collecting near miss incidents and disseminating lessons learned to law enforcement officers across the country. With the LEO Near Miss system operational, all law enforcement officers now have access to an archive of institutional knowledge that can improve officer safety systematically, as opposed to near miss incidents predominantly affecting only those involved in the incidents. The practice of learning from near misses and addressing safety deficiencies prior to any injury or fatality occurring is a fundamental component of a safety culture, and law enforcement must build a stronger safety culture to have a significant impact on officer injuries and fatalities.

In support of the project’s mission, NPI provides virtual training and technical assistance, at no cost, to help agencies integrate the practice of near miss reporting into operations, policy, training, and culture.